Strike Out Stigma National Tour

Eye to Eye is leading a wonderful awareness tour across the US starting that starts today in California and will end in Rhode Island at the end of the month. Read about it in the press release below and find the social media links to follow their trail.

July 19-30: College Students Driving National Message on Eye to Eye LD / ADHD STRIKE OUT STIGMA NATIONAL TOURLt. Gov. Gavin Newsom shares his thoughts on having dyslexia and on the Tour leading the conversation about being labeled with learning disabilities, ADHD and dyslexia: Colorado Senator Michael F. Bennet to keynote 9th Eye to Eye Young Leaders Organizing Institute on final stop of the Tour

For Immediate Release

NEW YORK/EWORLDWIRE/July 18, 2013 — The latest public official to lend his words to the five students, all labeled with learning disabilities, ADHD or dyslexia – taking on the LD / ADHD STRIKE OUT STIGMA NATIONAL TOUR, California’s Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom offers:

“As an individual with dyslexia, I know firsthand the challenges associated with the issue championed by the Eye to Eye mentors and Think Different Diplomats leading the LD / ADHD STRIKE OUT STIGMA NATIONAL TOUR. These students are bringing hope to vulnerable, at-risk youth in all areas of the country. The Tour is working to draw attention to a significant social issue and changing the conversation about being labeled as learning disabled, ADHD and dyslexic.”

The LD / ADHD STRIKE OUT STIGMA NATIONAL TOUR kicks off on Friday, July 19, in San Francisco, and will continue through Tuesday, July 30, ending in Providence, R.I., when the 9th Annual Eye to Eye Young Leaders Organizing Institute (OI) begins a week of inspirational and tactical youth leadership training for over 100 students who lead their college and high school chapters.

Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet will provide opening remarks at the OI – Eye to Eye’s biggest event that brings together chapter leaders from across the U.S., who had his own experience with dyslexia.

The Tour, conceptualized and brought to fruition by 5 college students living with the labels of learning disabled, ADHD or dyslexic, is a physical manifestation of a movement that is doing more than lifting their spirits.

The 12-day, nearly 3,200 mile trip is aimed at driving attention, literally, to the misconceptions surrounding learning disabilities, ADHD and dyslexia, and to transform the public conversation – “strike out the stigma” – of the labels, and to empower others.

The cross-country tour is a continuation of the students’ volunteer mentoring work with Eye to Eye, for which these passionate and empowered youth conceptualized and proposed the idea, and who are completely responsible for the planning and execution of the campaign. Their progress will be shared on social media at:

– Raise awareness about what it means to have an LD / ADHD. – Empower those living with LDs / ADHD to take ownership of their labels. – Share their story so as to “strike out stigma” by shedding a light on the misconceptions surrounding LDs / ADHD.

“We have experienced unprecedented response from people of all walks of life from across the United States about the Eye to Eye LD / ADHD STRIKE OUT STIGMA NATIONAL TOUR,” stated Eye to Eye co-founder and Chief Empowerment Officer David Flink. “Our message sparks a very personal chord, as seen with national leaders such as California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, and with young people we engage with every day. For those who haven’t experienced these different ways of learning themselves, they do know someone who has struggled because of these labels. We are out to change the conversation about learning disabilities, ADHD and dyslexia – it appears, as we get closer to departure, that change really is coming.”

Eye to Eye is the only national LD / ADHD movement dedicated to mentoring. Eye to Eye does much more to reach many more people with the organization’s message. In addition to establishing core mentor/mentee relationships, Eye to Eye brings people together both inside and outside the LD / ADHD community.

The Eye to Eye (http://www.eyetoeyenational.org) vision is simple yet bold: to create a world in which people with LD/ADHD are fully accepted, valued, and respected – not just by society, but also by themselves, that they live free from second thoughts or worry, and that they are ready, able and eager to apply their unique strengths to whatever they encounter in life.

Eye to Eye is determined to expand the safe space of its art rooms into society at large by normalizing LD/ADHD through open and honest conversation about it. The Strike Out Stigma National Tour is a physical embodiment of this movement.

MEDIA: To arrange for interviews and to receive high resolution photos or video footage, contact Fred Miggins at 212-537-4429 ext. 3 or email fmiggins@eyetoeyenational.org.